All Forum Posts by: Glenn Mcgrath

Thanks Scott. I was in a dilemma whether to replace the drywall or just patchup the area as the leak sort of punctured the dry wall and water actually started dripping from the ceiling not a whole lot may be half a mug. Fortunately its been very sunny after the last storm and the cracked pipe boot in the roof was immediately fixed after the storm. The next rain storm will help me validate the fix (keeping fingers crossed), Its going to be very challenging for me but I am planning to go to the attic this time just to make sure its not leaking any more. Just one question still remains unanswered for me when should I make a determination to replace the drywall? if it doesn't leak this time should I just go ahead and repaint the entire ceiling instead of replacing the dry wall?

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Hello.

I had a cracked pipe boot and observed a small leak in the ceiling, the leak has been fixed and the ceiling patched but its looking patchy now after the contractor left. He said everything will look even after things dry up, but it looks patchy , I did not expect this to happen since its all white , am I supposed to paint the entire ceiling now? appreciate your inputs.

Thanks

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Hello,

As though the pandemic wasn't enough with all the moratoriums Hurricane Ida surely has also impacted both the small and large multifamily investors and sometimes the impact may not be immediate ,for example someone who was planning and preparing to sell his investment property may not be able to sell at the market value after the hurricane has damaged the property. As a real estate investor myself I wish to know how is the Biden government is helping the multifamily investors? and how can one avail help from the government. Appreciate your inputs.

Thanks

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Originally posted by @Victor S.:

Originally posted by @Glenn Mcgrath:

Originally posted by @Victor S.:

do you really want to be paying a roofing contractor to clean your gutters? like our resident say: "c'mon, man!"...

if your stained ceiling is right below this pipe, then it's almost a guarantee the crack is your leak. you'll be surprised how much water a tiny crack/hole lets thru during heavy rains.

It's on the 4th floor don't think gutter cleaning is a DIY project for a noob investor, please let me know if you have any other ideas.

sorry, my crystal ball is not that good. i still stand by my recommendation of finding someone who does it (much) cheaper than a roofing contractor.

got it I misunderstood you meant to hire someone cheaper for cleaning gutters, the guy whom I hired is not a roofing contractor per se he is a renovations contractor who does fixing cracked boot /chimneys thought I could pay him an additional couple of hundred bucks to clean up the gutters as well while he was already there.

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Originally posted by @Victor S.:

do you really want to be paying a roofing contractor to clean your gutters? like our resident say: "c'mon, man!"...

if your stained ceiling is right below this pipe, then it's almost a guarantee the crack is your leak. you'll be surprised how much water a tiny crack/hole lets thru during heavy rains.

It's on the 4th floor don't think gutter cleaning is a DIY project for a noob investor, please let me know if you have any other ideas.

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Originally posted by @Genny Li:

Originally posted by @Glenn Mcgrath:

Originally posted by @Genny Li:

Get your butt up there and find the leak. Relying on roofing contractors to do it is a good way to get taken to the cleaners.

No way I can get it there, started my keto diet and intermittent fasting only last week. I guess I will have to have him take pictures of the cracked boot (LOL....) before and after the fix just to ensure some level of validation.

I sealed the flashing on my chimney 7 months pregnant with kid #2. I believe in you! :)

Thanks Ginny this is very inspiring to me. The problem with my attic there is no furnished ladder, the contractor got one with him and I managed to get into the attic, I felt somewhat offbalance and nervous as the ladder was wobbly, I guess I will get used to if I frequent my visits. Any thoughts on who can install an attic ladder so anyone can comfortable get into the attic? Do bigstores such as Lowes install it?

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Originally posted by @Genny Li:

Get your butt up there and find the leak. Relying on roofing contractors to do it is a good way to get taken to the cleaners.

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Originally posted by @Gail K.:

Ripping open the ceiling? That's a bit of an overkill.

Your contractor "specializes" in roofs. Believe what he told you. If he wanted to sell you a roof he would have tried. He found a cracked pipe boot (not unusual) and the leak just happened to be right under this area. There are products that can go over the current boot and be secured to the roof to solve the issue.

We had the same thing happen in one of our rentals. An annoying leak in the corner of a bathroom. Checked out shingles (no problem and the leak continued during heavy rains). The pipe boot was the culprit and the crack was very difficult to see. Once repaired (I think the guy charged us $75 to find it and repair it) no problems and that's been a fair number of years down the line.

Sometimes finding the source of the problem is the issue. If you have multiple leaks the roof may need to be replaced. One leak is often a popped nail, or a shingle either loosened or blown off in a windy storm or perhaps a leak around a chimney where the sealant has cracked a bit...or the cracked boot.

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Good Point! and I am seeing just one leak. In general can we trust contractors to fix cracked pipe boot or cracked chimney? Tomorrow when he goes over the roof should I ask him to clean the gutters as well? Any other things I can have him check when he goes on to the roof top?

Most contractors I have worked with so far do only what they are told without acting out of situational awareness and most clients are not cognizant enough of all the aspects and from my experience what one doesn't know hurts really bad more specifically in real estate.

one last question I had, what specific products are used to fix these kind of cracks are there any specific brands that I can look? Thanks!

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Originally posted by @John Underwood:

Fix it. It is likely a popped nail. Cracked pipe boot or leaking flashing.

You were spot on John, Thank you!.

I called a local contractor today who specializes in roofing as well and he indicated Cracked pipe boot. The attic was too narrow for me to navigate around with so many other things around that I could not dare to inspect and validate the issue myself. Fortunately, I could sense that attic wasn't all wet phew!

From what I could see there was a small localized area in the ceiling about the size of palm where the leak was observed almost right beneath the pipe where the slow dripping was observed.

One of the challenges I noticed with other people in some message boards in a similar situation is that, the roofer applies a fix and confidently tells his clients that the issue has been fixed only to see the leak coming back again looks like there is absolutely no way to determine whether a leak has been fixed or not.

I am considering an alternative idea can someone please let me know if its a good idea or bad idea?

So, the idea is once the leak is fixed , I will pay the contractor only 50% and I will have him partially rip open the ceiling for up to 10 days or until the next heavy downpour, if a leak exists its will be very easy to catch early and if there is no leak I will pay the remaining 50% to contractor once he fully closes the ceiling, bad idea? appreciate your inputs.

Thanks

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Originally posted by @Mason Hickman:

Originally posted by @Glenn Mcgrath:

Hello,

Tenant informed me that the ceiling is dripping water. Turned out It required a torrential rain for me to discover that there is a leak in my rental somewhere perhaps in the roof . I am newbie and have had some really bad experiences with some predatory contractors in the past. I am finding this very stressful since this is my first time dealing with the situation and would like to carefully navigate through this phase, I hope its not as bad as I think. I will really appreciate if someone can give me some useful pointers on how to go about addressing the issue. I have few questions to begin with.

1)Should I directly reach out a roofer immediately? or

2)Bring in local contractor or handyman to identify leak?

3)should I crawl the attic and/or rip off the ceiling and try to discover a leak myself?

4)should I fix the leak or replace the 15 year old roof?

5)should I file an insurance claim?

I was actually planning to sell this home this summer

If reaching out a roofer what are some questions I need to ask to properly vet the roofing contactor any direction here is much appreciated.

Thanks

If the roof is only 15 years old, there should still be some life left in it. Check the exterior to see if there are any shingles that have been ripped off or are displaced. Check inside the attic to see if you can identify where the leak is coming in from. Do you have a hot water heater or A/C condenser in the attic? If so, check that.

Since you're planning on selling it, fixing it will likely be the better option. Sometimes in driving rains, the rain can get worked up underneath the shingles that doesn't happen in a standard rain.

Thanks Mason. Fortunately its not a flat roof , I hope it will be an easy fix.

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All Forum Posts by: Glenn Mcgrath

Glenn Mcgrath has started 3 posts and replied 12 times.

Post: Ceiling paint looks patchy after fix

Post: Ceiling paint looks patchy after fix

Post: Hurricane ida: Is Biden providing grant to small MF home owners?

Post: Fix Roof leak or replace the roof?

Post: Fix Roof leak or replace the roof?

Post: Fix Roof leak or replace the roof?

Post: Fix Roof leak or replace the roof?

Post: Fix Roof leak or replace the roof?

Post: Fix Roof leak or replace the roof?

Post: Fix Roof leak or replace the roof?